help, first pushchair, the choice is doing my head in!

[camflower]

hello everyone, pls excuse me if you think this subject has been done to death but i'm going in round in circles and need some more expert advice!

my first baby is due in august. i live in london, drive and use public transport and i like to get out and about so i want something reasonably sturdy and comfy for the baby.

bugaboo bee: love the look of the bee but it seems really tiny and a lot of money for something that looks like it'll last a year

cameleon ; again, v expensive and i worry that it's style over substance. trouble is you read stacks of reviews and everyone either seems to love it or hate it!! and here in stoke newington/islington EVERYBODY in the whole world seems to have one. i have friends with slightly older children who say i should just get one, and they wished they'd been around when they had theirs. ...

mountain buggy: have read great things about the urban, although it is supposed to be a bit of a beast to take on public transport and it does have a carrycot and can take a car seat. think they have just been taken over by phil and ted's so there is a big supply problem at the moment, and i can't get to see one in the flesh, so to speak . the new light one, the mb swift was a which best but, but you can't get a carrycot for it and the seat doesn't reverse ...

micralite toro newborn: a friend swears by the old fastfold one, although they are quite flimsy cos they are light.
the toro has a carrycot, is easy to fold and you can buy big front wheels to turn it into an offroader. seat won't face you but not sure how much that matters after the carrycot stage??

then of course my parents go into a pram shop which sells emmaljunga and the woman in the shop says she's been selling them for 15 years and they are the best prams ever la la la .... if that's so, why do they hardly ever get mentioned??

think i had better stop here cos this is too long already but any thoughts would be great. i've gone in a few short months from not knowing the first thing about prams/buggies/pushchairs to being totally obsessed - maybe i should get out more!

thanks in advance

Can only speak for the Bee - I bought one a couple of months ago for dd who was 14 months at the time. She still has lots of room in it and it lies nice and flat for when she falls asleep. It's the only pushchair that she has gone back to sleep in after being taken out of the car seat. If I ever have another dc I think I'd use the Bee from the start and not worry about anything else.

Small footprint and easily manouver moveable! Good resale value too.

maclaren xlr is a good choice for london imo- sturdy stroller (everyone gets a maclaren anyway ) you can clip a car seat on and now they also do a carrycot for it!

Hi

I can second support of the Bee.

Folds small, light wt, seat goes fwd, back and flat. My 10wk dd will sleep in hers.

Re size, my 2yo niece has been in it no trouble.

All my friends who got larger models/ travel systems are already considering chucking in their prams for smaller, lighter ones. I can see my bee lasting to toddlerhood, i dont see the need to get a maclaren stroller as many do.

Only downside is wheels are small so bit hard going on hard surfaces.

Good luck choosing and for rest of pregnancy.

btw, nothing wrong with maclarens, heard xlr is great.

Mamas and Papas pliko pramette - it's the one I'll be looking to get (if I ever talk dh into it...)

It has the comfy pramette lie flat option for newborns, then when baby can sit up it has the forward facing stroller type position. It folds like a stroller too so is great for public transport.
You can also get a car seat to make it into a travel system.

HTH
xxx

or the silver cross pramette...forget to mention that one, very similar to M&P Pramette.

I've had a few prams. Bugaboo frog. v nice, and not small at all, IME. MY son is tall and he was fine in it. SOld it on ebay for a good price, too.

Micralite fastfold- lovely with carrycot and as an older toddler stroller, but there is a period between where the forward facing stroller is not the best thing.

My absolute fav has been the BEE. forward/rear facing, folds flat, light to push, very comfy- my 2.5 year old loves having a sleep in it as much as our baby does. It has been fab.That's the one I would recommend.And I think the one my DH would recommend, too- as much for the adjustable handlebar as anything- though he wasn't too keen on the bright pink hood I chose!

I also have p&T which is worth considering if you plan to have more babies fairly close together.

Most people I know with the pramette find them impossible to push with one hand. May sound a long way off, but once your baby is walking this isssue becomes quite pressing!

Oh, I found pramette to be fab with my dd and ds, still intending to buy a new one as don't have the old ones anymore.

I love it.

Just to throw a spanner in the works, have you considered Stokke Xplory? I live in London, use public transport a lot, absolutely love mine. Very easy to push with one hand, DD is now 17mths and we have never felt the inclination to get anything different. It's expensive but they seem to hold their value pretty well so you could always bung it on eBay once you're done.

You can get carseat adaptors, and we used the pram bit as a travel cot for the first four months, also DD used to sleep in it during the day. It does this brilliant thing on steps which I have never seen in another pushchair and is super-maneouvreable (sp?), even one-handed. Friend of mine with Stokke did get second lighter pushchair which she used about once and then abandoned because it was so much more hassle to push and to get around.

Sorry, too long, I know, I am completely evangelical about them and should be on commission.

I'm due in four weeks, yet it was a few months ago that I was struck with a similar unstoppable urge to get the pushchair sorted out.

I became fixated on getting a Stokke Xplory, and in the end got one second-hand (new, they're a ridiculous price). V impressed so far, though have nothing to compare it to, and have yet to take it outside!

With DD I used quinny buzz/zapp and a maxi cosi carseat, until she was a bit older, and bothe quinny models started making a bizzare noise and the zapp wheel fell off..

ehem, I then got the micralite toro when she was about 8months, and she really loved it. I would have preferred something that folded smaller though, and that was parent-facing if possible, but I wanted to avoid getting a bugaboo cameleon just on principle! It was good because it reclined so easily and folded easily too, and she seemed happy and comfortable in it. It was also suprisingly compact for shops etc.

I am really pleased with the micralite toro- but have a new buggy crush on- concord neo- it can come on its own or as a travel system, with carrycot (either one that folds up small or a solid one that can go in the back of your car) and car seat. I love it, seriously love it.

Ehem.. however, I think the bugaboo bee is also good. It seems ideal as it is so compact and you can use it from birth and all the babies I have seen in them look very snug, the only thing that puts me off is that it reminds me of a friend's adapted disabled pushchair. Not necessarily a bad thing- I think it's the way the wheels are set out.

I'd still buy one though!
Yours,

buggy obsessive

Although I LOVE my mountain buggy, it is too big for my ford fiesta, have taken it on the bus but have to use the middle doors on some hoppers which drivers dont like very much! And it only just fits down most bus aisles
I just use it locally for walking to the park/corner shop. So wouldnt reccomend it for what you are looking for. (im in surburbs)

3 wheelers are great though, can be pushed one handed, and are generally much lighter to manouver, my SIL loves her Jane she walks everywhere or gets the bus. She has only had one problem with rude bus driver trying to get on the bus.(at hammersmith bus station) It also folds down small & fits in her OH car (also ford fiesta)

I have friends with bugaboos, they dont seem very big, my DS was big baby and I dont think he would have been very comfortable and now he is 20 months I think he would have outgrown it. You also have to take off the seat unit to collapse it, which can be a pain.

I borrowed a mamas & papas pramette when DS was small but found it too heavy to push once he got to around 3 months & even harder once it was turned round into ppushchair mode. (and even empty it cant be pushed one handed) I was tempted to buy the silver cross 3d which is a similar style but that put me off.

Another friend loves her britax vigour, which you can get carry cot for - now her 2nd is here she swops the seat unit & carrycot round whenever she has just one child.

I also have a maclaren xt (can be used from birth)that I keep in the car for shopping, going out for the day etc and cannot fault it. Although DS doesnt like it as much as his big roomy MB. I had lots of people telling me not to buy anything else when I was pregnant but as DS was also due August I thought he would still need something bit cozier as he would be little going into autumn/winter. However, looking back dont think it would be too much of an issue with a decent cozy toes.

Nearly all my friends ditched their pram/pushchair for a buggy by the time their LO's were 6 months! But it is hard to think past the newborn stage when you are pregnant!

I'd go with the Bugaboo Bee. It sounds perfect for your needs. I am not sure why it is often cited as being expensive - it seems a lot cheaper than Mountain Buggy etc.

We went with the Bugaboo Frog/Gecko, which seems great but probably not as convenient for public transport as the Bee.

I would get a maclaren xt (not XLR-much heavier and less compact!) and a sling/carrier for newborn. If you want something with a carrycot for first few months I'd get an ebay or off-friend pramette or bugaboo. But don't bother buying new as by 6months you'll only use your xt.

What about a Mamas and Papas Luna pushachair - they easy to push with one hand?

Sorry - I'm a fan of M&P!! I've never tried any of the others really, I did have a double Urban Detour when ds was tiny and new because dd was only 15mths old.

Actually I'd def recomend that!!!! Soooooooo easy to push and I think they do a singles version as well. Not sure about the weight of it tho as I had the double one.

I am due in about 4/5 weeks and have not bought anything yet either! I went for a demo of the bee after trying out the quinny etc and think bee maybe the one. I agree it is expensive and having a hubby who has just been made redundant makes the choice harder - but it lasts until they are 2/3, folds down with or without the seat, is much easier and lighter when folded than the quinny, 4 wheels, great for crappy London pavement, shopping basket, compact and washable covers - also we are getting a store to do a price match £550 with car seat, bee nest, footmuff, adapters and bee itself. Is that good???The price is also due to go up in July due to the euro exchange rate.

I think the tempation with a new born is to go for the lovely traditional lie flat pram type..I did this with DS and bought a Graco Travel System and was cooing over the pram aspect of it...

Fastforward to when DS was born and 1 emergency c section later..I couldn't even lift the fecking thing to get it into the car..ended up switching to a Maclaren Techno Classic with lie flat capacity and a head hugger for a new born...DS is now three and I've not had to change since - it was THE best investment for me.

Its light, compact for the car, folds easily, one handed steering - I could go on! The only drawback I would say is the shopping compartment is a tad on the small side, but that is the only complaint I have. You can also remove the padding to make the buggy more roomy as the child grows and also for washing

I met another mum at DS's birthday party recently and I put her DS in the Mac to try it out as she wants to change her pram for something lighter and more practical and she loved it

DV1 - I have heard that the Bugaboo nest is a waste of money. And will you actually use it given that your baby will be a summer baby?

The footmuff is meant to be good but you can wait to buy that until you actually need it (ie: when the baby sits up and it is colder weather).

I am in a similar position though we don't drive, other people will be driving us from time to time and I will be on and off buses constently, possibly having to fold the pram at a moments notice due the policy of only one unfolded buggy allowed on each bus in our city.
to have finally decided on a Bugaboo Bee..

I did go through the whole thing that it seems like a small simple thing for the money but so many people have said that Bugaboo are really good quality and it will last well. If I end up having an enormus child and the Bee seems too small then the re-sale value on Ebay is very good.

Small is good for the car boot as well as on and off buses. Seems really easy to fold and un fold and is very easy to steer and light in general.

I was going to add that I have noticed that you can pick up all the bugaboo extras - footmuff, nest, car seat adapters, Parasols for a lot less money on ebay too.

Have you considered a Baby Jogger City Mini at all?

I've been really happy with my Jane Slalom Pro travel system. I bought it on special offer from the now defunct Two Left Feet. It's great for getting up and down steps, kerbs etc., and offroading in parks and woods. The first stage car seat clips directly onto the frame without having all the pushchair nonsense there as well. Also the seat is big, so it will last for ages, and you can add a board at the back for your toddler to stand on if you have a second baby!!!

Hi Camflower, I have literally just got back from John Lewis and am very tempted by the Bee. It's so hard to decide isn't it? I was just browsing as I'm not due until October.

I also live in Stokey! I have the same needs as you, so am reading this thread with great interest.

Good luck deciding.

HB
xx

I had my first baby in islington and didn't drive so used loads of buses and trains.
we had a maclaren techno classic and it was perfect for our needs and we even ended up buying a lighter weight one (maclaren triumph) after about 6 months.
we just bought a really cosy buggle sniuggle and she was very comfy

both of them are still going strong and you can get 2 or 3 of them in the buggy bit on a bus.

also have seen many of the buggabo chameleons get their back wheels stuck while going down the aisle on a bus

hth

re the Bee I didn't get the nest, I just got the footmuff as was using it for my 2 year old, swapping them between buggy and sling/walking 2 year old, and it was great. I have the cocoon for the P&T, though, and that was great, but you don't have to fit the strpas on the P&T coccon, not sure how the bee one works.

Oh my goodness, now evem I am confused! I've only got 4 weeks left though! All the extras were included in the package.